There are many reasons that determine where a NP or PA decides to practice medicine. Below are factors to consider before applying to your next position.

When it comes to healthcare, nurse practitioner and physician assistant careers are hard to beat. Professionals in both positions can choose to work in a variety of settings, from rural towns to major cities and from small clinics to huge hospitals. They both enjoy a great deal of job security—especially as the aging U.S. population, Affordable Care Act, and retiring physicians drive up the need for primary care practitioners. Perhaps best of all, the majority who choose to become NPs or PAs are enormously satisfied with their jobs. In fact, according to Becker’s Hospital Review, 74 percent of these professionals are happy in their careers.

Of course, you need to land a position before you can enjoy these benefits—but it shouldn’t be terribly difficult. BLS data shows demand for registered nurses—the category in which they include nurse practitioners—is set to increase 26 percent between 2010 and 2020. The BLS outlook for physician assistants is even better at 30 percent. So where should you go to find the best NP and PA jobs, whether you’re just starting out or seeking your next opportunity? The answer primarily depends on your career objective.

Do you want to earn the largest possible salary?

While many factors influence NP pay—including demand, supply, and specialty—one article published last year, noted 10 cities with the highest average salaries according to BLS data. Modesto (CA), Santa Cruz/Watsonville (CA), Hanford/Corcoran (CA), Napa (CA), and Sacramento/Roseville (CA) had nurse practitioner salaries ranging from $95,530 to $99,230 on average. Salinas (CA), San Francisco (CA), Oakland/Fremont (CA), and San Jose/Sunnyvale/Santa Clara (CA), had average salaries ranging from $103,310 to $117,590. The BLS found the highest average salary for NPs in Vallejo/Fairfield (CA), where it was $120,540.

Demand, supply, and specialty also factor into PA salaries. However, a similar article on the BLS data for physician assistants, ranked 10 cities with particularly high average pay. Bellingham (WA), Flint (MI), Portland/Vancouver (OR), West Palm Beach/Boca Raton (FL), and Sebastian/Vero Beach (FL), had salaries ranging from $109,790 to $111,500 on average. Average salaries in Ocala (FL), Yuma (AZ), Tyler (TX), and Gainesville (GA), ranged from $115,050 to $119,870. The BLS found the highest average salary for PAs in Racine (WI), where it was $139,730.

Do you want to choose from the largest number of opportunities?

A city with a high average NP or PA salary may not necessarily offer the largest number of job opportunities. For example, Racine, WI, the city paying the most for PAs, only employs one physician assistant per 1,000 jobs according to the aforementioned article. If you’re more concerned with breadth of choice than salary, you should look for a position in a location with higher employment levels.

While you can find all the details (total jobs and jobs per thousand here for NPs and here for PAs), a quick analysis shows the following 20 cities to offer the most opportunities for professionals in these careers.

Nurse Practitioners

New York/White Plains (NY)

Chicago/Joliet (IL)

Los Angeles/Long Beach (CA)

Boston/Cambridge (MA)

Philadelphia (PA)

Houston/Sugar Land (TX)

St. Louis (MO)

Dallas/Plano (TX)

Minneapolis/St. Paul (MN)

Atlanta/Marietta (GA)

Physician Assistants

Glen Falls (NY)

Lewiston (ID)

Rochester (MN)

Fayetteville (NC)

Idaho Falls (ID)

Anchorage (AK)

Nassau/Suffolk (NY)

Charleston (WV)

Ann Arbor (MI)

Winston/Salem (NC)

Do you want to look for an NP or PA position as efficiently as possible?

While nurse practitioners and physician assistants are in demand across the nation, landing your next position can take time. You can speed up the process by posting your resume on prominent online job boards—enabling healthcare hiring managers to find you—and by signing up for job alerts on career websites that offer them. USA Today and Mediaplanet recently featured one such website, HEALTHeCAREERS Network, as the top destination for healthcare jobs.